Tuesday, Aug 3, 11:55 PM PDT
Another lazy day here. We sailed about 43 miles from 8:00PM yesterday t 8:00 PM today, which is slightly better than the day before, and a little suprising, since the forecast was predicting much lighter winds for today. The wind has dropped off, but not by much. Perhaps tomorrow. The seas have been small, and the sky usually clear. There are patches of clouds, with faster, cooler air under them, and light air behind them, but these hardly qualify as squalls. All in all, it’s been extremely pleasant We lounged about in the cockpit for much of the day, listening to music.
This afternoon, minutes after putting the hook in the water, Dick caught (and filleted) another Mahi Mahi. Fish tacos for dinner (fortunately we haven’t grown tired of these), followed by a Key Lime pie made by Carl. For lunch we had leftovers: Chicken tacos, and/or noodles with tomato sauce.
When we left Kaneohe we engaged the hydraulic autopilot, but the next morning we began using the Monitor windvane instead. This mechanical marvel has been steering us continuously since Thursday. The Monitor frees us from having to steer, consumes no power, and we couldn’t be happier with its performance. Today we ran the engine for the first time since leaving Kaeohe, just for an hour to charge the batteries. They still have a long way to go before being fully-charged, but we expect to be motoring quite a bit over the next several days,and this will also serve to top of the batteries.
Our projected course takes us north tonight, but by mid-day tomorrow we will begin a slow turn towards Seattle. Here are some distances: We are 939 miles from Kaneohe, 1427 miles from the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and 1453 miles from the Golden Gate Bridge. We are due west of Carmel. It’s a long way from anywhere.
Best, Paul / VALIS

Monday, Aug 2, 8:45 PM PDT Position: 33deg 56min N, 153deg 40min W Course: 010deg magnetic Speed: 6.5 kts
It’s been a pretty lazy day aboard VALIS. The wind had been steady, the seas moderate. Last night the waves picked up for a while and it was quite bouncy below, but we’ve become used to that sort of thing by now. After a spectacular sunrise, we lounged on-deck enjoying the blue skies and warm wind, or went below for a nap. Occasionally birds would pay a visit, including one large albatross who followed us for about an hour. The fish were safe from VALIS today.
Dinner last night was chicken tacos. Lunch today, grilled cheese sandwiches. Dinner tonight was a tasty chicken stir-fry, prepared by Carl and Dick.
We just finished participating in the evening radio net for returning Pac Cup boats. All are doing well, and it is interesting to hear all the various being disscussed for the voyage home. We still have our options open on VALIS, but the forecast does seem to favor a Seattle landfall. We’ve got another day or two to decide.

We’ve been sailing more or less north over the last couple of days, with good wind and moderate seas. We should soon be hitting the light aiir surrounding the Pacific High, which is still looking very confused. Oh well, we will sail (or motor) with what we get.
Early Saturday A.M. we spotted what looked like a well-lit ship on the horizon. There were several decks, and it was definitely a big one. But, it wasn’t showing up on the AIS. After several minutes of puzzling over this, the ship vanished behind the low clouds, and eventually reappeared above the clouds as — the Moon. The broken clouds on the horizon had completely fooled us.
The rest of the evening was spent sailiing through light squalls. Come morning the skies were mostly clear, and the water was sparkling. A beautiful day. Around noon the fishing line went into the water and pretty soon we were hauling in a 36″ Mahi-mahi. Fish tacos for dinner! In the afternoon we spotted a ship on the AIS receiver, about 25 miles off but on a course to cross our bow at a range of four miles. At about ten miles we could see her on the horizon. As she crossed well in front of us we hailed her on the VHF, just to say hello. She was carrying a cargo of coal from Mobile, ALA to China. And she had definitely seen our AIS transponder.
Last night was more good sailing, moderate winds and seas, and light squalls. This morning we sailed under a rainstorm, which did a good job of washing the several days of salt deposits from the deck and rigging. After the storm we were treated to a brilliant rainbow.
And so we sail on.
Paul / VALIS

6:30 PM PDT, Friday, July 30 Latitude: 26 deg, 32 min N Longitude: 155 deg 47 min W Speed: 7.5 kts Course: 350 deg magnetic Wind: 17 kts from 100 deg magnetic Location: about 325 miles north of Kaneohe

Latitude: 23 deg, 34 min N Longitude: 156 deg, 51 min W
It is now 3:30PM PDT on our second day of the return voyage. Skys are mixed clouds and sun,and the seas remain relatively calm. Wind is about 15 kts from the west. We are sailing on a course of 010 degrees magnetic, at about 6.5 kts.
All crew is feeling good, and we have been able to eat, sleep, and stand watch and actually enjoy it. During the day we have no fixed watch schedule — we use the honor system to make sure that someone is always topsides, and the rest of us lounge around, clean up, prepare meals, etc. From the hours of 9:00PM to 9:00AM (PDT) we each take a three-hour watch. So we aren’t stuck with the same watch every night, we have a daily rotation. Last night the watch order was: Rich, Carl, Paul, and Dick. Tonight it will be: Dick, Rich, Carl, Paul.
The days have been warm and mostly sunny, and that means we get squalls — usually during the evening. So far these have been moderate. Last night we reefed the genoa during one squall, and we left it reefed until sunrise. We lost a little speed, but it was more comfortable and easier to handle. The nearly-full moon illuminated the sea and sky for most of the night, occasionally hiding behind the clouds.
Last night for several hours a large bird was flying around our masthead, making pass after pass trying to land on the windvane. There’s a bunch of stuff sticking up at the masthead, and I suspect this is why the bird never succeeded in landing. Dick and I were careful to keep our mouths closed while we watched.
While we left Kaneohe using the hydraulic/electric autopilot, this morning we switched over to the Monitor windvane. It’s doing a great job, and not using any electrical power to do it.
The weather pattern looks favorable for a Seattle landfall, so that is the working destination. At this point in the voyage we would be sailing the same course whether we were heading for Seattle or San Francisco, so I remain flexible.
Aloha, Paul / VALIS

VALIS finished the Pacific Cup. We had a great time and I will write about it all soon enough. Our stay in Kaneohe Bay was a real pleasure and the folks at the Kaneohe Yacht Club couldn’t have been nicer.
But now it’s time to return home.
VALIS left her KYC slip about 12:50 HST, and headed out into the bay. Dodging turtles in the Sanpan Channel, we reached the open ocean and put up our sails; full main and genoa. The seas were small, about 3-4 feet, and the wind about 12 kts from the north west. Skies clear, warm water — this is great sailing.
Our return crew is Pac Cup crewmember Rich, new guys Carl and Dick, and me (Paul). We have just begin the evening watch schedule, and are sailing a little east of due north at about 6 kts.
I still haven’t chosen our destination. It could be Seattle, or San Francisco. Either place would be great, and I may let the weather make the choice for me.
Aloha, Paul / VALIS

It looks like VALIS will be crossing the finish line tomorrow (Monday), in the afternoon or early evening. The wind forecasts look favorable, and the current conditions are great. We’ve had mostly sunny skies, with a few mild squalls thrown in.
None of us is too interested in dealing with the aftermath of catching a fish, so the lines and hooks have remained safely stowed. Our biggest catch remains the 37″ mahi-mahi, and this is no match for the 43″ fish reported by Scaramouche V. I guess we owe them a round of beers.
It is now 8:20 PM PDT. We have 152 miles to go, and have been averaging 7-8 kts most of the day. Tomorrow should be similar. We have begun to spruce up the boat, and ourselves, and are looking forward to seeing our friends and family very soon.
Aloha, Paul / VALIS

We’re getting close! It’s about 335 miles to Kaneohe, which makes a Monday evening arrival a distinct possibility. It might be Tuesday if we get lighter winds as we approach the finish.
Conditions are great. We’ve had sunny skies, good wind, and nice waves for most of the day. Music filled the cockpit again, and we are really enjoying the good sailing.
Last night we had mahi-mahi tacos, and tonight we ate nice salad followed by pulled-pork burritos. Very tasty!
The race is starting to wind down. A handful of the faster boats have already finished, and more are quickly approaching the line. The radio net, which had been quite busy, is beginning to suffer from attrition as the boats finish. Once VALIS reaches port the net will be run from the Kaneohe Yacht Club’s radio shack.
The VALIS crew is well, and in good spirits, but each of us feels the anticipation in a different way. A long passage such as this has many transitions, and we are now in the final phase before reaching land.
Aloha, Paul / VALS

Blog posts aren’t going through for some arcane reason. Here’s a simple one, let’s see how this works.
We’ve been sailing directly towards Hawaii for the past few days. Conditions have been great, and with the exception of a “spinnaker event” yesterday that resulted in the snapping of a carbon-fiber spinnaker pole, we have made decent time. We have been mostly flying the main and genoa “wing and wing”, with the genoa poled out. This isn’t as fast as with the spinnaker, but with winds strong enough to drive us past hull-speed there isn’t a lot to be gained with the spinnaker.
Yesterday we caught a very nice 37″ mahi-mahi, which quickly turned into a fish taco dinner. Around sunset we were passed at high speed by “Mega Hurts”, flying her spinnaker and looking good. Later we learned that she soon after crashed and ruined that kite.
This morning the hook went in the water soon after sunrise and within fifteen minutes Tirso was hauling in a small mahi-mahi. This slipped off the hook, which was fine with us. Not long after the line was back in the waterthe call went out: Fish On! Again, Tirso pulled it in, and again it slipped off.
The third time was the charm, and we were soon enjoying a great fish taco dinner, prepared by Rich.
This evening we continue to Kaneohe. The wind and our speed have fallen somewhat, but we remain on course and are in great spirits. The sun has been out most of the day and it has been spectacular.
Aloha, Paul / VALIS

The last several days have been difficult for the Pacific Cup fleet. The good news is that all are safe and sailing.
Here’s the bad news: Friday, July 9 – Tiki Blue retiring due to electrical system failure. Now safely back in San Francisco. July 10 – Plus Sixteen and Sea Reign retire, schedule issues. Both home now. July 11 – Bequia has steering failure, returning home with emergency tiller (eventually fixed steering, now back home). July 11 – Rapid Transit has a broken rudder, is retiring and returning (currently approaching Santa Barbara, rudder repaired.) July 12 – Recidivist breaks headstay, have let spare halyards forward to secure mast and are continuing to Hawaii under reduced sail. July 13 – Deception taking on water, approx 20 gallons per minute (they have since found and plugged a leak at the rudder bearing, are continuing the race). July 13 – Rhum Boogie has backstay problem, are rigging extra padeyes to help secure backstay (this is now under control, are continuing under reduced sail). July 13 – Trial Run has a crack in the boom near the gooseneck. Continuing. July 13 – California Condor breaks rudder (she has twin rudders). Later, the second rudder breaks. She is continuing to Hawaii using drogue steering.
That’s a lot of carnage in a few days! All boats are either heading to a mainland port, or to Hawaii, and some of these are still actively racing. No outside assistance has been needed, or requested.
It’s hard to characterise the problems that have occured. Some of these boats are brand new, and some are veterans of many thousands of miles of ocean racing. One common theme is that the sailors on board have been able to work with the tools and supplies on hand to come up with solutions and patches.
Aboard VALIS we have had a few minor bits of breakage and wear, but nothing that we haven’t been able to easily work around. There is a growing list of things to fix or replace when we reach Hawaii. We are deliberately not pushing the boat or the crew as hard as we could, under the theory that breaking stuff doesn’t make us fast. It’s a long race, and we intend to finish it.
But the sun is burning through the low clouds, and we’re having a glorious day sailing. There’s a fishing line trolling astern, and we are being escorted by flocks of flying fish. Below the surface they swim in a school, but they fly through the air in a flock. At least that’s our theory.
Paul / VALIS